Alexandra

I was banded in August of 2003, and have lost about 120-130 lbs altogether. I've been maintaining my weight between 210 and 220 for at least the last year, maybe a little longer. I've had a few episodes of reflux that have necessitated unfills, and next week I'll probably have all my fill removed once again. I don't have much at all, but evidently my body doesn't like it any more and even the least about of congestion or stress makes it really uncomfortable. So I'm going to go for a complete unfill and hope that resolves it. All in all, though, I'd definitely say that I have had no major complications. The band is a tool that may require maintenance and checkups, but I knew that going in. Before this recent bout of tightness I would have said the same as quakergirl: it's not that big a deal and is just my normal way of life now. One thing is for danged sure: I never would have gotten a FRACTION of this weight off me without it. It's saved my life.

Thank goodness for the good medical report, TOM. I'm so glad to hear it! Now for the next several days remember that you'll be recovering from hauling tons of rocks around, so wait until after that to record any symptoms. What a terrific gift the new landscaping is going to be! I know that when my husband does anything like that as a surprise, it touches me to my very core. A painted bathroom, a rearranged closet, a spruced-up car; whatever it is it shows beyond doubt that he's been thinking of my in my absence, and isn't that really all any of us want? She will be thrilled beyond measure. Have a wonderful reunion, the two of you. My thoughts are with you both. :hug:

What's "a chinese"? What sort of food are you talking about, specifically?

I say go ahead and try it. You may not like how it feels, and that'll be that!

I was never a big soda fan, but liked them just fine and would drink my share of Diet Coke. Since being banded, though, I find carbonation just really uncomfortable going down. Beer and champage, and things like Orangina with very fine carbonation are tolerable. But any sort of regular soda or seltzer is just, ugh. Giving it up was a lot easier than I expected.

Melanie, please don't get discouraged. What is your start weight? How are things going with fills? Do you have good restriction and are you feeling the band change your eating habits? Give us more information and maybe we'll be able to help you figure out how to get this show on the road.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind compliments and even people asking me how I did it. But this was, to me, a perfect stranger; if she'd said only "you look great" to me I would have thought she was whacked. Come to think of it, maybe that's why she added the question--so I wouldn't think she was paying a stranger a compliment for no reason. But the tactless part was that she was yelling to me across the street in front of a group of other strangers! No, I don't mind that she asked. It was HOW she asked that really rubbed me the wrong way. (Of course, I don't know this woman from Eve, so I don't know what would have been a "right" way for her to ask. But yelling was NOT.IT.)

Hi Janiee, I don't think an endoscopy is a routine presurgical test, no, but a lot of doctors will require one if the patient has any symptoms of a hernia or other problems. Do you have reflux of any other digestive disorders now? If not, and there's no reason to think there's anything unusual about your esophagus, your doctor might very well not order an endoscopy. That said, what are you afraid of? You're thinking about surgery, and that's WAY more scary than an endscopy. I had one last year and really, it's not a big deal at all. Don't let that keep you back.

Some people!! A family on my block has a lot of people in and out of the house all the time. Many of them are frequent visitors--relatives, I guess--and maybe I've seen the same people more frequently than others. This is not to say we've ever been introduced, or that I would know any of these people if I met them elsewhere; but I do wave if I catch someone's eye once in a while. The family that lives in the house is perfectly nice, and I know them somewhat. When the mom first saw that I was losing a lot of weight, she quite nicely asked me about it and I told her my story. That was at least two years ago now. So this morning, a gaggle of people was leaving their house, and I was down at the curb getting the mail. I didn't recognize anyone but waved casually anyway. One of them--someone who has evidently visited before--actually yelled at me across the cul-de-sac: "YOU LOOK GREAT! HOW DID YOU LOSE ALL THE WEIGHT?" Holy crap! She was with at least five other adults, two or three of them male but none of them anyone I knew. Nice! "Magic," I said with a smile. She laughed and then looked puzzled, so I just said "a lot of hard work" and returned to my house. What the hell was she thinking? That I would bellow across the road "I HAD WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY, THANKS FOR ASKING, YOU TACTLESS BITCH"

This problem is VERY common, and not just among obese people. What I found that helped me the most was pictures of me in groups and next to other people. Look in store windows as you walk by and compare yourself to other passers-by. I don't think it's helpful to ask others to compare you--they are seeing you through their lenses of love, or a desire not to offend, or what have you. A friend might be able to help with this, but it's the last thing I'd expect a husband to be able to handle, and I don't think it's fair to ask anyway. It's just too loaded an issue. Part of this journey, though, is seeing ourselves in a new light as we move through the world differently, and having a grasp of the "before" can add excitement as we move into the "after." Comparing ourselves to others based on weight is a lost cause, though. We are all shaped so differently and have such different densities that it's meaningless. I've met women my height who wear only one or two sizes smaller than I, but who weigh scores of pounds less. Being tall changes the equation, as does muscle mass. There's just no point in trying to draw conclusions about size vs. weight except as it relates to ourselves. Other people have their own dynamics, and theirs can't teach us anything about our own.

1. After you get banded and all healed and done with the special liquid and mushie diet can you eat regular foods? I mean I can't live without pizza forever. Yes I realise that I will have to eat healthy and it will be a different way of life but can you eat regular foods? You can eat any food you want, you just have to eat it differently. Once you have restricttion, you will never again be able to finish off a slice of pizza on five bites. But think about it: isn't that how you got here? 2. Do you have to get fills for the rest of the time you have the band on? or is it for a certain amount of time? You get adjustments for as long as they're necessary. An adjustment either increases or decreases the amount of restriction you feel, and are up to you. Most people have several adjustments in the first couple of years to increase restriction, and it seems common also to have adjustments to decrease restriction down the line for whatever reason. But it's personal and there is no definitive rule about. 3. Can you do regular exercise, especially like sit ups? Yes, absolutely. 4. I know this is depending on the person but do you have so much extra skin that you CAN'T wear a bikini? I know that sounds really shallow, but I have never been able to wear one before. This is unique to the individual. I know I would never wear a bikini, but I've had two kids in addition to losing 130 lbs. Lots of post-op people wear bikinis. 5. How long did it take for you to complete the whole process, getting approved to actually getting the band on? My situation was unique, so don't go by me. The insurance process is what's time-consuming, and that just takes as long as it takes. Once the insurer has ALL your information, they should get back with a yes or no within 30 days (usually much faster). The surgery is then arranged, and of course that all depends on your surgeon's schedule. I cant think of anymore but I think the rest I could probably ask my doctor... I just want to make sure this procedure is for me. You will think of more, don't worry. Welcome to LBT and keep asking questions!!

TOM, I'm so sorry to hear about this latest challenge! Personally, I'm of the mind that withholding information is never the best approach, but there's no reason to assume the worst or share that with Tina just yet. Let her know you've seen a doctor and they have a thought or two about what could be wrong, and you're following up with a specialist soon. Let her decide how much detail she wants/can handle right now. I know if it were my husband, I'd want to know. Nothing would hurt me worse than the thought that he was trying to "protect" me by withholding important news. But what you've got right now isn't yet news, it's speculation. There's no avoiding the full-plate syndrome. In my experience crises come in waves. But you and Tina can support one another by being gentle and honest, and not anticipating the worst when you really just don't know what's what yet. Good luck with everything, TOM. You have our full support!!

Welcome to LBT! I'm another happy Abkin patient and can tell you you're in the best of hands. Hope to meet you at a support group meeting!

Oh these are priceless. Here's mine, and of course, it has to do with a bodily function: It's the early 90s. I'm a member of a ski club with a goodly circle of new friends and had a new boyfriend to boot (DH). Nice as it was, I was the "newbie" having only been a member for a year. Everyone else had been tight for a long time. I'm living the studio basement apartment of a house owned by one of these friends. This apartment had been recently created, with a bathroom added by contractors who are also friends and members of the club. One of the contractors happened to be the most gorgeous guy--you know, the BMOC that every club has to have and the one who melts the ladies hearts when he talks to them. We'll call him Jake. So, back to the apartment: DH (remember, he's then only a new boyfriend) and I are in the shower when suddenly the drain backs up. So I called the homeowner and she called the contractors, and a day or two goes by and it's all fixed. At the next meeting of the ski club DH and I ran into Jake, the sexy gorgeous contractor, and casually asked him what the problem had been, glad of something to talk to him about. He launches right in to the plumbing report right in the middle of this very crowded room filled with my new social circle: Evidently, since the wastewater has to be pumped uphill to be removed from this below-grade apartment, it is unwise to flush used tampons. Oh. My. God. Thinking about it now makes me want to sink into the floor.

Hi Crishell, I completely know what you're talking about. I had been over 300 lbs for most of the last 25 years when I was banded three years ago. Getting below that number was earth-shattering, as was wearing sizes that start with a 1. All I can say is that you know yourself better than anyone, and you have to do what feels right to you. This is not a race, you will not let anyone down if you don't meet some external standard. You can see my stats below. While I've come a very long way, by any objective standard I am still substantially overweight. My BMI at the moment is about 31 (down from 48!!). But I'm totally happy here, and think getting to my "ideal" weight of 170 would be too weird for me. I haven't weighed that little since junior high! The beauty of the band is that it lets us control the outcome. One of the major reasons I opted against bypass was fear of the major, dramatic weight loss. I've been obese too long to think I could accept such a change happening too fast. Banding has let me control the speed of weight loss, let me take pauses when necessary and get back on the stick when I felt ready. Will I feel ready to lose more than I have? Who knows? For now I'm comfortable and want to spend time on getting in better shape through exercise, and re-concentrating on embracing small portions. But these are not means to a goal of losing more weight, they're for my health and weight maintenance. Anyway, just wanted to say yes, lots of people have been where you are now. This is a big journey and we all take it differently. Good luck to you!!

TOM, you are so right about explanations being necessary. Right here on this board it comes up again and again because doctors just issue instructions, not explanations. Why do we have to be on liquids? Why mushies for so long? Why can't I eat a steak post-op, I'm hungry!! If the doctors would just take a minute to explain the reasoning, no warnings would be necessary.

That's wonderful news, ABP, and a great first step. The endoscopy will tell you for sure if your pain is band-related or not. You're doing the right thing! Good luck in your liquids regimen and please let us know how the endoscopy goes. Fingers crossed that there's no problem!!

Actually, I've read (though I don't have time to find a citation) that the main reason McDonald's used such a dangerous temperature was that the hotter the water, the farther the coffee grounds go. Hotter coffee doesn't equal better coffee, it just lets the grounds yield more. It had nothing whatsoever to do with quality or taste. Not surprisingly.

Spam posts deleted. Ahhh, but we do. Look in the top right of every post, and you'll see the exclamation point in the triangle. That's it. Please do report any inappropriate or spamming posts you see. Thanks!!

It's time to lock this thread. Sorry we didn't get to it earlier. Please feel free to start others. And remember that personal attacks are NOT permitted, whatever the reason!!

Bingo! :clap2: The magic words are medically necessary.

Check out this thread.

I can't wait to see what Patrick Leahy says in response to this "offer." What a slimeball we have in the Oval Office!! We're supposed to buy that it's "unconstitutional" for Congress to want sworn testimony from members of the Executive Branch. WHAT??!!!??? The irony is that this particular situation seems like a small matter as compared to the intelligence failures or mismanagement of the war. But at the very first indication from this new Congress that yep, they actually want to KNOW what's going on behind closed doors at the White House, the administration blows what little is left of its cool. But it's been proven time and time again that without an oath, we can't believe a word any of the Bushies say. And even with an oath, they're willing to say what fits their agenda (like Scooter). Another day, another set of lies. Unreal.

Hey, hey, hey!! It's really gonna happen, girl! Just wait until you get that last call...you are going to plotz. Hang in there...not much longer now!!

This is almost exactly my story! My carrier was Aetna, and at the point I applied they still had the band as an exclusion and had never paid for it. The Lindstroms were very nice and interested in trying to help, but they weren't overly optimistic about my chances of winning so I decided to save my money. I continued to fight and eventually won, and yep, one of the people I called was Kelly. They were really happy to hear I had prevailed!